Monthly Archives: August 2012

saakashvili baramidze

Political heavyweights lined up to contest majoritarian seats in Georgian Polls.

Campaigning, Georgia, Home, News • Tags: ,

The hardly fought election campaign in Georgia is fully under way, characterised by a competitive environment, even though the main opposition bloc remains under what many consider to be, unnecessary pressure.

A feature of this campaign that had been largely missing in previous Georgian elections with a few exceptions is the competitive nature in the part of the elections reserved for majoritarian candidates, namely those contesting for the single member constituency seats that make up nearly half of the 150 person parliament.

The two main political forces, Saakashvili’s United National Movement and Bidhzina Ivanishvili’s opposition “Georgian Dream bloc have both assigned some of their top people to contest the so-called majoritarian seats as their importance in this election has now become evident. More…

Georgians support having more women in politics, but social barriers remain entrenched.

Civil Society, Georgia, Issues, Opinion • Tags: , ,

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) released a report last week on the Perception of Women in Georgian Politics.

The data presented in the report, titled “Focus Group Findings on Perceptions of Women in Georgian Politics: An Assessment of Perceptions of Women as Political Candidates and Elected Officials” was carried out by the Institute of Social Studies and Analysis (ISSA), a research organisation based in Tbilisi. ISSA conducted eight focus groups of 7-10 participants across the country in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Marneuli to tease out attitudes in Georgian society towards women in politics. More…

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Editorial in The Times on 22 August 2012. “Georgia on our mind”

Georgia, Home, Issues, Opinion • Tags: , ,

The influential London Times newspaper on 22 August published an editorial on the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections in Georgia. We reprint here the editorial in full:

Back in the bad old days, or so it is said, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when apprised of the malefactions of a South American dictator, replied: “He may be a sonofabitch, but he’s our sonofabitch.” This sentiment was self-defeating enough then, discouraging as it did the development of democracy in regions that have never forgiven the West for its double-speaking. Now it is nearly impossible. It has become more and more difficult for democratic countries to give their wholehearted support to nations and leaders who deny liberty and constrain democracy. More…

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Why the London Times is right in saying that the Georgian elections must be fair, and be seen to be fair.

Georgia, Home, Issues, News, Opinion • Tags: , , , ,

There are less than five weeks left before the much anticipated parliamentary elections in Georgia. The campaign has now started in earnest, the machine of the electoral process is in full swing, and politicians are taking to the streets of the towns and villages in a way not quite seen before. This could and should be, Georgia’s best election ever.

The Georgians have a clear choice between two major political forces – President Saakashvili’s United national Movement and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream Bloc. The two are offering different alternative visions for the country’s future – even if on important issues of foreign affairs the two seem to agree on the most important elements, including Georgia’s pro-western orientation and European ambitions.

The process has however been marred by the attempts of the Georgian government to box in its rival through a labyrinth of laws and regulations that have got little to do with the democratic process, but much to do with an electoral victory by stealth. This not to mention the fact that the main opposition person, Bidhzina Ivanishvili, was stripped of his Georgian citizenship the moment he announced his political ambition. The international and local outcry that ensued resulted in ad hoc legislation being rushed through parliament to allow Ivanishvili to remain in the race – but still without his citizenship. The Georgian authorities may have not fully understood how petty and ill-conceived these steps were perceived by Georgia’s friends overseas. More…

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly says Georgia State Audit Service is “making questionable decisions and imposing harsh penalties without clear or transparent guidelines.”

Georgia, Home, Issues, Monitoring, News • Tags: , ,

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has raised concerns about the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia.  A delegation of senior officials from the Assembly today concluded a three-day visit to Georgia aimed at assessing the country’s pre-election climate. Tonino Picula (Croatia), appointed by the OSCE Chair-in-Office to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission, led a delegation, which included OSCE PA President Riccardo Migliori (Italy), Secretary General Spencer Oliver and Director of Presidential Administration Roberto Montella.

The delegation met with a wide range of stakeholders in the upcoming election, including ruling authorities, opposition parties, election administrators, representatives of the media and civil society, as well as members of the international community in Tbilisi. More…

ODIHR Election Observation Mission in Georgia starts its work.

Georgia, Home, Monitoring, News • Tags: ,

The OSCE has announced that its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has launched its Election Observation Mission ahead of the  1 October Parliamentary elections in Georgia. A statement on the OSCE website says:

“The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the parliamentary elections to be held in Georgia on 1 October.

The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Georgian Foreign Ministry.

The mission is led by Nikolai Vulchanov and consists of 15 international experts based in Tbilisi and 28 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country. In addition, ODIHR will request 350 short-term observers to monitor election-day proceedings and the counting process. More…

Georgian government denies freezing accounts.

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The Government of Georgia categorically denies accusations being circulated by the lobbyists representing Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream coalition claiming that the Government has frozen the bank accounts of the Georgian Dream party or affiliated political parties. No party’s account has been frozen.

A statement by the Government of Georgia said that “Georgian Dream has masterminded a complex web of illegal conduits to channel illegal funds to its campaign, bypassing Georgia’s campaign finance legislation. Georgian dream coalition leaders publicly announced that they would not abide by the law several time. More…

PACE rapporteurs say fines against Georgian Opposition “undermine normal political activity.”

Campaigning, Civil Society, Georgia, Issues, Monitoring, News • Tags: , ,

The co-rapporteurs for Georgia of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) and Boriss Cilevics (Latvia, SOC) today expressed their concern about the reports that the Georgian authorities have seized the bank accounts of the Georgian Dream opposition coalition, thereby undermining its participation in the election campaign for the parliamentary elections that will take place on 1 October 2012.

A statement published on the website of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe states:

“The excessive and disproportionate fines levied by the State Audit Service effectively undermine normal political activity by an opposition party. This is of concern, especially in the context of recurrent allegations of bias of the State Audit Service and reports by credible organisations, such as the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, that question the fairness of the court decisions in this respect.

The rationale for campaign funding legislation is to ensure a level playing field between all electoral contestants, and not to drive one party or the other out of the electoral race. The upcoming elections, and their democratic conduct, are crucial for Georgia’s democratic development. We therefore call upon the Georgian authorities to demonstrate maximum restraint and to ensure that all parties, including the Georgian Dream Coalition, can participate fully in the electoral campaign” they added.

The two co-rapporteurs will visit Georgia on 11 and 12 September 2012 as part of the pre-electoral mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

source: CEW with www.coe.int

Georgian NGOs condemn the lack of impartiality of the State Audit Service and accuse it of “irreparable damage to the election environment in Georgia.”

Civil Society, Georgia, Home, Issues, News • Tags: , , ,

The “This Affects You Too” campaign, a coalition of democracy advocates and civil society activists from across Georgia, have appealed to the international community to pay more attention to the campaign environment in the South Caucasus nation. With the rejection of the appeal made by billionaire leader of the opposition coalition, Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and Georgian Dream majoritarian candidate, former footballer, Kakha Kaladze, to overturn what they deem unlawful fines, This Affects You Too is turning up its international game plan. This Affects You Too has publicly questioned the impartiality of the State Audit Service (SAS) in Georgia, arguing that the SAS has demonstrated its allegiance to the ruling party as opposed to a free and democratic Georgia. In a statement released this week, the election-monitoring coalition has called the work of the SAS “too subjective” and “aimed at [harassing] opposition parties” – pointing to the particular attention the SAS is paying to the Georgian Dream coalition. The report continues that while the SAS, at first, was at least trying to cloak their activities as objective, at this stage the SAS, according to the This Affects You Too report, does not even bother to feign impartiality. The report cites the fact that despite serious allegations of vote-buying, illegal campaign contributions and the abuse of administrative resources that have surfaced against the ruling party, a disproportionately small amount of cases have been opened, let alone pursued, against the governing United National Movement in comparison with those brought against the opposition. More…

YAP positioning itself ahead of next year’s presidential poll in Azerbaijan.

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YAP Deputy Executive Secretary, Siyavoush Novruzov MP

With the Presidential elections set for October 2013, the ruling party of Azerbaijan, the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) is feeling out its competition.

Aydin Mirzazade, a Member of Parliament for YAP, told Gun.Az that the YAP considers “every candidate to be a rival” for next year’s elections. The YAP MP assured the press that the ruling party will take steps to ensure all candidates can participate and campaign in the election. Commenting on incumbent President, and YAP’s unofficially confirmed presidential candidate, Ilham Aliyev’s democratic record, Mirzazade noted that with Aliyev’s candidacy, Azerbaijan will continue on a democratic path of economic growth and stability for the next five years. In conclusion he said that YAP does not consider itself weaker or comparable to any other party.

Ramping up the rhetoric, Deputy Executive Secretary for the YAP, MP Syavush Novruzov, declared that the ruling party considers the “unification of [the Azerbaijani] opposition in one team as impossible.” More…

Why one man, one vote means something different in Georgia.

Data, Georgia, News, Process • Tags: ,

With the publication of the voters’ list ahead of the 1 October parliamentary election the glaring difference in the size of constituencies, and the impact that it may have on the result of the elections has become only too obvious. Despite the fact that this issue has been highlighted many times by the international community, particularly the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE no remedial action has been taken.

According to the data that has been released by the Central Elections Commission of Georgia there are 3,621,256 voters. Whilst all voters have one vote the importance of this vote varies depending on the constituency. Whilst 77 MPs are elected on a proportional party list, the other 73 are elected through single member constituencies. The size of these constituencies varies enormously with some having only a few thousand voters and others exceeding 150,000 voters. More…

Who’s going? Who’s staying? Who’s coming?

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Home, Issues, News • Tags: , ,

Although attention is currently focused on the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia on 1 October, discussions in international circles are increasingly focussed on the three Presidential elections in the South Caucasus, scheduled to be held in 2013. Armenia will elect its President in February and Azerbaijani in October. The Georgian Presidential election is also due next year.

The three countries, different as they are, have one thing in common in their modern political history. No President has ever left office because he was defeated in an election. They were either forced out or died in office. In Armenia in 2008 the incumbent, Robert Kocharian left office at the end of his two terms. The constitution in Armenia and Georgia allows a person to hold office for only two terms. It was the same in Azerbaijan, but the constitution was changed after the last election, thus enabling the current President Ilham Aliev to run for a third term. As things stand therefore there should be at least one change of president next year, in Georgia, since the current President has already had two terms in office. More…

OSCE PA, ODIHR…are they the same, Not quite!

Georgia, Monitoring, News • Tags: , , , ,

Toninu Picula

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has announced that a delegation headed by its President Riccardo Migliori, will visit Tbilisi on 20 August on a pre-election fact-finding mission. He will be accompanied by the Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Tonino Picula, who will head of election observation mission of the Assembly in Georgia in October and by Assembly Secretary General Spencer Oliver.

Picula, who served as the foreign minister of Croatia from 2004 to 2008, has extensive international election observation experience. He has previously led the OSCE election observation missions to Russia in 2012, Kazakhstan in 2011 and Moldova in 2010.

There is already a lot of confusion in the Georgian media about the different roles of the OSCE PA and ODIHR in the election observation process and very little sign that these roles are being properly explained. ODIHR which is supposed to provide long-term observation and deploy hundreds of observers is normally the main instrument of monitoring. The Parliamentary assembly provides the political clout for the OSCE monitoring effort. In theory! In practise the process does not always work so seamlessly.

source: CEW

Saakashvili: “It is the moment of truth.”

Georgia, Home, Issues, News • Tags: , ,

As campaigning swings into full gear, the ruling party, the United National Movement (UNM), places itself at the mercy of the public, as incumbent President Saakashvili describes the upcoming parliamentary elections as a referendum on the government. Speaking at a campaign stop in the region of Imereti on Tuesday 14 August, President Saakashvili called the 2012 Parliamentary Elections “a Moment of Truth.” “Each of us should ask ourselves one very simple question – it’s a moment of truth – Is Georgia now a better country than it was eight years ago?” Saakashvili told villagers of the Terjona and Zestaponi municipalities in Imereti region. “If the answer is positive,” he continued, “and if we want to have [an] even better country, we should all stand together – that’s our offer.” More…

Over 3.6 million Georgians on Voters’ List, voting status for Georgians living abroad in limbo.

Georgia, News, Process • Tags: , ,

Georgian CEC Chairman Zurab Karatishvili drawling lots for the position of parties on the ballot paper at a recent CEC meeting.

The Georgia Central Election Commission (CEC) has released the preliminary version of the voters’ list for the parliamentary elections set to take place on October 1, 2012. The total, 3,621,256, is the highest recorded figure since the fall of communism. Until now, the highest number of voters registered in Georgia was recorded in May 1991 as 3,594,810 voters, for the first Presidential elections following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then the voters’ list has swayed steadily between 3.1 and 3.14 million through the 1990s, climbing its way back up to 3,544,770 for the May 2010 municipal government elections. More…

US congratulates Armenia as the second most active civil society in the Former Soviet Union.

Armenia, Civil Society, Home, News • Tags: , ,

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Heffern, released a video blog last week congratulating Armenian civil society on their effective and non-violent activity; noting that Armenian civil society is getting “stronger and … more effective every day.”

According to a recent USAID assessment, the ambassador informed us that Armenia has the second strongest civil society among the republics of the former Soviet Union. Noting the “vital” role civil society plays in a healthy democracy, Heffern pointed to the increased activity of civil society groups in Armenia in promoting positive change. More…

Less than seven weeks before the Georgian elections: BUT WHERE IS ODIHR?

Georgia, Home, Issues, Monitoring, News • Tags: , ,

The crucial parliamentary elections in Georgia are less than seven weeks away. Campaigning ahead of the tense 1 October poll started in earnest two weeks ago when President Saakashvili named the date. In fact political activity had been going since last May and few doubt that this is going to be a crucial election which will define Georgia for many years to come.

Months ago both the Government and the main opposition forces asked ODIHR to deploy election monitors as soon as possible. A formal invitation was also extended by the Georgian Foreign Ministry in accordance with OSCE procedures. Less than seven weeks ahead of the poll however the Mission has not yet arrived. More…

Numbers Game: WILL GEORGIAN DREAM BE ALLOWED TO USE NUMBER 7 IN THE COMING ELECTIONS?

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The opposition Georgian Dream Coalition in Georgia has warned that the Central Elections Commission may stop it using the No7 slot on the ballot papers during the forthcoming elections. In a statement to Embassies and International organisations on 11 August  the Coalition said that it had information that the CEC would give a restrictive interpretation to the elections legislation to prevent it taking the slot. More…